Theotokos | Definition, Orthodoxy, & History | Britannica (original) (raw)

Theotokos, (Greek: “God-Bearer”), in Eastern Orthodoxy, the designation of the Virgin Mary as mother of God. The term has had great historical importance because the Nestorians, who stressed the independence of the divine and human natures in Christ, opposed its use, on the ground that it compromised the human nature of Christ, and held that the more accurate and proper term for Mary was Christotokos (“Christ-Bearer”). The Council of Ephesus (431), basing its arguments on the unity of the person of Christ, anathematized all who denied that Christ was truly divine, and asserted that Mary was truly the mother of God. The Council of Chalcedon (451) used the term in formulating the definition of the hypostatic union (of Christ’s human and divine natures). See also two natures of Christ.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.